Oblivious
by shortystylee
Summary: A five plus one story. Five people who noticed Gendry and Arya's relationship before Arya, and then finally when Arya did.
1. Chapter 1

**One: Jon**

It was Jon, her older brother, who first noticed that something was a little different about her. Despite the five year age difference, they'd always been very close, him being a bit of an outsider from actually being her half-brother, and Arya trying to seem like an outsider. She was always somewhat quick to judge, sarcastic, and generally apathetic about things that weren't her proclaimed passions - music, modern art, wrenching on her dad's latest classic car project - in that order. Obviously, Jon had never been a ninth grade girl, and figured maybe that was just how they were.

"Everything okay today, kid?" Jon asked. It was after dinner one night and he knew he needed to try to talk to her, especially after she didn't jump at the chance to go out for ice cream with everyone and stayed home instead. He found her in the rec room in the basement, curled up on the couch with a two year old issue of Rolling Stone.

"Huh? Why wouldn't it be?"

"Dunno," he replied, trying not to give too much away. He knew something was up, just was not too sure of how to get it out of her. He took the spot next to her on the couch and watched her fold the magazine in half the opposite way, saving her place, and set it down on the side table. "You just seem a little off. Catelyn mentioned going to your Aunt Lysa's for the long weekend and I thought you'd go ballistic, but you didn't make a peep. Just kept plowing through dinner."

"Oh, that... I probably just spaced out. 'sides, it's not really a big deal."

"Other things on your mind? School going alright?" As soon as he mentioned school, it was as if the floodgates had been opened.

"Ugh, the Others can take school for all I care. There's this new guy, Gendry or some dumb name like that, in my math class. Transfer from Kings Landing, but I wish he would've stayed there. He's so stubborn. Three years older and he's in my algebra class too, must not be too bright. And it's like he isn't even sure what he's doing. Miss Wilkins sat him next to me, all like 'Arya's a good student, she can help with this assignment' and he just plops down in the empty desk next to me and starts comparing our homework. Can you believe that shit?" Jon shook his head. _Better to just let her vent_, he thought. "Top it all off, his big dumb messenger bag man-purse whatever-you-call-it thing knocked my soda off my desk. He's like a bull in a china shop, a big dumb stubborn bull."

Jon smiled and ruffled Arya's hair, watching her shoot him a look that he knew the meaning of straight away. _Oh, sweet summer child... you have no idea what's happening to you... and I'd bet that this big dumb stubborn bull has no idea what he's getting himself into._

**Two: Sansa**

Most people, Arya included, would've sworn to Mother, Maiden, and Crone that the last thing on Sansa's mind was what Arya got herself up to on a daily basis. That's where most everyone was wrong. The two sisters didn't talk to each other in school, or much at home, but Sansa felt an odd sense of protectiveness towards Arya. As such, Sansa was the next person to notice that something had changed.

It was fifth period lunch and, once again, Sansa noted that there was new person sitting with Arya at her normal lunch table. From her spot at the other side of the lunchroom, she could see Arya, tray filled everything unhealthy she could buy with the money their mother gave them, surrounded by her normal group of friends, Hot Pie, Lommy, and Mya Stone. Recently, there'd been another boy joining their lunch group. She recognized him, the new transfer student. They had a class together, Westerosi history, but she'd never talked to him. From across the lunch room, she watched as the normally reserved boy who sat quietly throughout their class and was nervous every time Mr. Luwin called on him for an answer, was anything but reserved and nervous. She saw him laugh at something stupid that Hot Pie must've said, then grab the giant chocolate chip cookie off of Arya's tray, her immediately getting angry and jumping up to grab it, only to have Gendry stand up as well and easily hold it out of her reach.

She smiled, watching Arya jump up quickly on her chair, grab the cookie before any of the lunch monitors saw her standing on the chair, and sit back down again. Sansa couldn't hear across the loud room, but she knew what Arya said next was not polite, as she fixed her eyes on him, punching his arm, just like she always did with Jon and Robb.

And then she saw it, the look he gave to Arya once she turned away and was focused on her cookie. His eyes were on her, gaze focused like this little ball of terror that was her sister was the only thing that mattered in the world. It was quick, but Sansa was excellent at reading people and caught the meaning right away.

She came out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly.

"Sansa! Westeros to Sansa!" She looked up to see her friend Jeyne reaching across the table, a questioning look on her face. "Oh, there you are. What had your attention that time, space cadet?"

"Nothing special. I guess I've just been thinking about fall play they just announced," Sansa lied. "I was thinking of trying out for Jonquil."

"Wow, Sans, really?" Jeyne began, and Sansa half listened to her friend prattle on about costume design, mostly thinking about how Gendry was looking at her sister and Arya was none the wiser. _As per usual_, Sansa thought. _Arya will be the last to notice..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Three: Catelyn**

Every November, the Stark family held a large backyard party for the annual University of Winterfell versus Kings Landing University football game. There'd be amazing food cooked by Catelyn, games of football out on the back lawn to get everyone amped up, the game would be shown on a projector screen outside with everyone gathered around in lawn chairs, and this year, Gendry would be joining, at Arya's request.

Catelyn had been surprised when Arya approached her about it a few weeks earlier. She'd heard a few complaints about the boy in the beginning of the school year, but those were quickly being replaced by statements about how Gendry had his own car, was able to take shop class to work on it, and wasn't it so cool that he also liked Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees... _whoever they are_, Catelyn thought.

Unlike Arya, Sansa had been boy crazy for years - falling in love with Dornish boy bands, getting a boyfriend her first day of middle school, mooning over whoever the latest popular attractive actor was at the time. Catelyn had been grateful to not have to deal with that business with Arya, but it looked like she soon might.

When Gendry showed up for the party, parking his beat up Firebird on the street and politely introducing himself to Catelyn and Ned, she was surprised to see that Gendry could hold his own against Arya. He didn't follow her bossiness blindly, like some of her other friends did.

"Ned, aren't they adorable? Arya has no clue how smitten that boy is with her," Cat said, looking out the large picture window into their backyard, watching the group of her children and their friends playing football.

"Yes, dear... but, isn't she a bit young for this?"

"She's almost fifteen. That's the same age we were when we met."

Ned was silent for few moments, eyes getting wide in realization. "Well, maybe I'll have to put the fear of the Old Gods into him one of these days if he tries anything funny."

They watched a play unfold outside - Arya catching a wobbly pass from Sansa, running towards the goal, being chased by Rickon and Gendry from the opposing team. Gendry was closer, close enough to tackle her, but Catelyn noticed a twinge of doubt pass across his face as he hesitated and Arya was plowed to the ground by Rickon, who was quickly growing to her size. Catelyn nudged Ned with her elbow, making sure he was watching. It looked like Gendry was taking some heat from his teammates for hesitating, while Arya remained on the ground. Catelyn could tell she was perfectly fine, just a little miffed that she got tackled. Rickon walked back to the rest of his team, while glaring at Gendry, who didn't notice, and instead closed the few steps to Arya and held out his hand. She rolled her eyes at him, but a second later laughed and said something, taking his hand so he could help her up. She made a note of the look on Gendry's face when Arya held on for a few seconds longer than was necessary.

"...or maybe you won't," Catelyn remarked, kissing her husband on the cheek and flashing a smug grin. "Looks like Arya has unknowingly snagged herself a perfect gentleman."

**Four: Robb**

Winter Solstice had always been Robb's favorite time of the year. Being away at university meant he could come home for two weeks to relax, see some old friends from high school... _it's also Arya's birthday_, he reminded himself, checking the passenger seat to make sure he brought her present with him. As he pulled in the driveway, he noticed another addition to the usual group of Stark cars - a red Firebird that looked like it had seen better days, and then saw who must've owned it - a tall boy with jet black hair, standing between Arya and Sansa, towering over both. _Who in Seven Hells could that be? Maybe Sansa's found herself another boyfriend. _

"Hey, birthday girl," Robb started, pulling her into a hug. "Did we adopt another Stark while I was at school? To think, we just got rid of Theon..."

"Shut up, Robb," she said, a wide smile on her face despite her words. "This is Gendry, one of my friend's from school. He's here for my birthday... you _did_ remember it's my birthday, right?"

Robb answered that he could never forget his favorite youngest sister's birthday, and ushered them inside to the den, where Catelyn had everything set up to open presents. They went around the room, Arya opening everyone's presents in order, a hoodie from the local hockey team from Sansa, a year membership to the Winterfell Museum of Art from Bran, and so on, until it was Gendry's turn. He picked up his present from the gift table and sat down next to Arya on the couch while she opened it, watching her eye it carefully, trying to figure out what it was.

"Oh. My. Gods. Gendry!" Arya yelled, opening the wrapping to reveal a box set of Pretenders albums.

"You like it?" He asked eagerly, eyes on her as she pulled out one of the albums, flipping it over in her hands like she couldn't believe they were real.

"Like it? Seven hells, this is the best present ever! I love it!" With more excitement than Robb had seen in ages, Arya closed the space between her and Gendry, quickly hugging him, but Robb noticed the way his eyes went wide with shock when Arya's small arms wrapped around his neck.

For a second Robb entertained that there might be something there, but quickly brushed the thought aside.

A couple hours later, once the pizza and cake were eaten and the guests were gone, Arya had pulled Gendry into the den. Robb was surprised he was still at their house, but had heard his dad mention something about how his home life wasn't that great and how he was reluctant to make Gendry leave.

Robb watched out the corner of his eye as Arya grabbed her record player from the shelf and set it on the carpet, taking Gendry's arm and making him sit next to her as she put on one of the albums. They sat close, just a sliver of empty space between them, and he noticed Gendry was nervous to sit that close to Arya. He'd leaned back resting his hands behind them, only to brush against one of hers, but quickly pulled it away, blushing profusely and muttering what looked like an apology, but he couldn't hear over Chrissie Hynde singing "Brass in Pocket." That was when Robb realizes that there wasn't anything there yet, but it was a definite possibility.

_Hopefully Arya notices soon_, Robb thought. _That boy is gods damn hopeless._

"So this is what's been happening while I've been gone..." Robb mused, still standing in the kitchen watching Arya when Jon and Sansa joined him. _Leave town for a few months and my baby sister is getting picked up by older boys_.

"Wait," Sansa started, "you mean you noticed too?"

"I think we all have. Well, everyone except Arya," Jon added.

"You think it'll take a while for her to figure it out?" Robb asked. "As amusing as it is to watch Gendry squirm and be nervous every time Arya is anywhere close to touching him, I sort of feel bad for the poor kid."

"Oh, let's give Arya a little bit of credit," Sansa said, sneaking another look into the den and seeing that same puppy dog look on Gendry's face, watching Arya close her eyes and sing along. "She'll notice sooner or later..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Five: Mya Stone**

Mya was not one to sit by idly and watch two idiots tap dance around each other, but that was precisely what she'd done with Arya and Gendry for months on end now. _They say it takes two to tango, but Gendry hadn't even turned on the music yet_.

The first day he'd sat down at their lunch table he was uninvited and it seemed like he'd just needed some algebra help, yet he kept coming back for the verbal abuse that Arya dished out, which got less and less until it was practically non-existent as time went on. That wasn't what made Mya notice first, in fact, she wasn't even looking for clues. It had been about the third week into the school year when she finally said something to him.

"What makes you keep coming over and sitting with us?" Mya asked. Their previous classes were closer to the lunch room, so they usually got to the table sooner than the rest of the group. "Got some feelings brewin' for Arry?"

"What? What... no, no..." Gendry replied, blushing wildly and stumbling over his words.

"No. Frickin'. Way. You so do! Gods, Gen, I was just kidding, but you totally do." Mya said. "I've never seen you eat chocolate... that cookie on your plate is for her, isn't it?"

"Alright, fine. I like her, a lot actually," Gendry admitted, "but can you lower your damn voice? I don't want the whole school to know about it."

They stopped talking about it at that point, as Arya slammed her tray down and sat next to Gendry, immediately grabbing the cookie off his plate and sticking her tongue out at him.

_And that was five bloody months ago_, Mya realized. _Maybe I can sway the tides a little bit. I don't want to let her know how bad he's got it for her, but maybe I can help her notice that someone wants to dance..._

"Dance!" Mya said out loud, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth before anyone else noticed, but luckily she was first to arrive at the lunch table that day and was still alone. _That's it_, she thought. _Nothing like a little matchmaker Mya_. She looked across the cafeteria, and once she saw Sansa sitting down at her table, she quickly pulled out her phone and shot a text over to her, informing her of the awesome idea. Sansa was on-board - she looked up to see where Mya was sitting and smiled, raising a thumbs up in the air. A minute later Gendry made his way from the lunch to sit down at their table across from her.

"Hey, Gen! So, before you say anything...," Mya started, sounding a bit too excited and trying not to let him get a word in edgewise. "The winter formal dance is coming up and I was thinking -"

"Hah! Sorry, Mya, but I'm not going to the dance with you. I'm flattered, really though."

"Oh, dream on. I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about a certain someone asking out the Stark they've been sickeningly gushing over for months."

"You think that I should ask Arya... to a dance... as a first date?" Mya nodded. "I'm sorry, but have you met Arya Stark?"

"I have. I have, in fact, and I've watched you two silly mules not know what to do with each other for almost six godsforsaken months now. I'm tired of it. And if I'm tired of it, you've got to be exhausted. It's time to do something about it."

"Listen, I'd love to. Believe me, there's nothing more I'd enjoy in the world than going out on a real date with Arya, having her on my arm in front of everyone, and gods be good, seeing her in a dress... but it's not that easy. I don't even think she knows I exist in that way."

"Oh, but it can be that easy. Tell you what. You ask her later... not today though. Ask her tomorrow afternoon sometime, okay? I'm sure she'll say yes. You trust me, don't you?"

"No, Mya. I most certainly don't," he replied. "But I guess I've got no choice."

"Nope. Not this time, Waters. Mya Stone magic, starting now."

Gendry shook his head, shaggy hair falling into this face as he started to pick through his lunch. Mya looked back to where Sansa was sitting, caught her attention again, and Sansa quickly replied with a text.

Text from: Sansa Stark

What's the plan?

Text from: Mya Stone

Girls' Night tonight at my place. Invite friends. Plan is to make her realize what she's missing. Get the gears working.

Text from: Sansa Stark

Arya's not gonna come to that.

Text from: Mya Stone

Oh, yes she will.

In the end, Mya had wrangled Arya into coming with the offering of a batch of homemade cookies and twenty dollars discretely slipped into her hand between classes. _Sansa probably won't like it that I paid her, but I never said I was below bribery_, Mya thought. School finished and Mya had furiously texted the rest of their girl friends to let them in on the plan, all of them enthusiastically replying that they would help. Six o'clock came around and everyone started to filter into Mya's house - Sansa dragging Arya behind her, her friends Jeyne and Margaery, and Margaery's cousin Elinor. Pizza arrived about halfway through the first movie, and Mya had asked Elinor, known in their group as the most boy-crazy and eager for a boyfriend, to start off.

Elinor was smart about it, bringing up the dance, and the musing out loud how she'd seen Gendry with his shirt off at the school swimming pool while she ran errands the hour that she was a teacher's aide. A story which may or may not have been true, but it was enough to get Arya's attention. When she didnt say anything, Elinor just went right on, turning the faucet on full blast about how much she'd love to go to the dance with Gendry.

"Don't get your hopes up too much, Elinor," Margaery started, "Rumor has it that he's already going with Bella Rivers anyway." _Oh, good one_, Mya thought. _The opposite of Arya if I've ever seen one_. A senior cheerleader, blonde, legs for days, and a chest that Mya swore was built by the gods, but so little between her ears that she'd be better off if she could use it for storage.

"Ugh, lucky bitch," Elinor mumbled under her breath.

Arya, who'd been mostly silent so far that evening, broke out into a hearty laugh, as if something that was said was the funniest thing she'd heard all year.

"What's so funny?" Mya asked, hoping her plan was going well and trying to pull Arya more into their conversation.

"What's so funny is all of you idiots if you think Gendry would go out with Bella Rivers," she explained, setting her paper plate full of pizza crusts on the table. "She's not his type at all."

"Oh? Well then, enlighten us, Arya. What is his type?" This time it was Margaery asking. She turned around in the reclining chair and curled her legs underneath her, facing Arya on the couch.

Arya rolled her eyes. "How the hell should I know?"

"You're always with him at lunch," Margaery replied, casually shrugging her shoulders. "I just figured..."

"She's right, Arya," Sansa began, not giving her sister the time for a smart retort back. "You _are_ always together at lunch, or after school helping him fix his car in the auto shop... and I don't know how many nights I find you two hogging the TV, playing Xbox in den _all alone_. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you two were dating."

"We are NOT dating."

It was getting harder and harder for Mya to control the smile that kept creeping up and onto her face. _This is going splendidly_, she thought. _Rile her up a bit, get her confused in her words... this is the best scheme I've ever had. Alright, my turn to pop into the conversation._

"You're not, but you could be. Hells, girl, I don't wanna date him but I'd still kiss his face off if he gave me the chance." Mya shot a smirk and a glance to Sansa, who immediately caught on.

"Hah, I doubt Arya has held hands with a boy, let alone kissed one," she said, egging her sister on.

"Shut your face, Sans. I've kissed a boy before."

"Yea? Who was that?" Sansa asked back quickly._ Nothing like some good old-fashioned sibling rivalry to keep this moving._

Arya blushed for a split second before answering, "Ned Dayne."

From her silent and observing spot on a floor pillow, a loud noise came from Jeyne, one which was not pleased. "When did you kiss Ned Dayne?"

"At Margaery's birthday party, back in October," Arya said calmly, figuring she'd had one up on them now. "You guys don't remember? We all played truth or dare and -"

_And now back to me_. "That doesn't count! You know Sansa meant a real _kiss_. I'm sure Gendry would help you with that, I've seen the way he looks at you."

"And how's that?" Arya asked. She'd caught her bottom lip between her teeth, chewing on it the way she did each time a conversation was actually making her nervous.

"Like he wouldn't want anyone else besides you sitting in the shop after school handing him wrenches," Mya said. It was true. She'd passed by there a couple times when she'd stayed late for drama club and seen Gendry catching glimpses of Arya sitting on top of the work bench, one leg folded under her and the other down swinging, engrossed in reading some manual out loud to him.

Arya just exhaled loudly and shook her head.

"Don't make that noise at me, Arya," Mya continued. "I mean, you've got a lot in common with each other, he's gorgeous, and I've sat through more than enough lunches to know that you already bicker like an old married couple." The rest of the girls nodded their heads, giggling their agreement. "Aren't you curious? Not even a little?"

"... okay. Maybe a little," Arya finally admitted, looking down at her lap.

"Well, just think about it then. The good ones go quick, yea?" she said. _Okay, that's about enough of that. I think our point has been made_, Mya told herself. "Alright," she began, quickly clapping her hands together, "What movie is up next?"

Mya watched as Sansa and the rest of the girls themselves searching through the Netflix selection, but it was very obvious that Arya's mind was somewhere else, most likely reviewing every interaction she'd had with Gendry in the past six months.

XxXxX

The next morning, Mya texted Gendry to tell him he needed to ask Arya that afternoon. The nervousness must've gotten to him, since he didn't show up at the lunch table, instead he had some excuse about needing to study, but Mya knew better.

Finally, right at the end of the day, Mya was at her locker rearranging her book and picking out what she needed that night for her homework, when she saw Gendry walk up to Arya at her locker, only a few feet away. _Oh, shit yes, front row seats_, she thought, hiding her smile behind her locker door and staying quiet.

"Hey, Arry," Gendry started. "So it seems like everyone else is going too... but do you think you'd wanna go to the winter formal with me in a few weeks? I mean, that's if you haven't already been asked or don't have anything better to do or -"

"Gendry. Stop rambling," Arya interrupted. "Yes, I'll go."

"Really? Great, great," he said, still nervous as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Well, I gotta run. Meeting with Mr. Luwin about my history paper. We still on for video games tonight?"

"Um... my house at seven-thirty, like usual." Gendry nodded his acknowledgement and headed off down the hallway, quickly disappearing around a corner. Arya turned back to finish swapping out books in her locker, but when she slammed the door shut and replaced the padlock, she caught a glimpse of Mya at her locker, only a couple doors down since they were close in the alphabet.

_And my job here is done_, Mya thought, smiling at Arya. She adjusted her backpack and winked at Arya, who for the first time since that quick conversation with Gendry, realized exactly what she'd agreed to. Mya watched as her jaw dropped and once it closed was replaced with a signature Arya Stark scowl, with a hint of embarrassment showing in her slightly blushed cheeks.

**Plus One: Arya Stark**

_This is a bad idea_, Arya thought as she looked at herself in mirror of the bathroom she shared with her sister. Two weeks had passed since she'd agreed to go with Gendry to the dance and in those two weeks she'd been dragged in every which way by her mother and Sansa, hurriedly trying to find the perfect dress, shoes, hairstyle... perfect everything for her.

She stood and took a look at herself in the full length mirror that hung on the back of the bathroom door. Her normal clothes, ratty jeans, boots, and oversized sweaters had been replaced by a forest green dress, with a white Peter Pan collar neckline, cap sleeves, and a bottom that was fitted through the waist and flared out to just above her knees. She admitted that it wasn't awful, definitely not the worst dress she'd ever had to wear, and she did like the little hidden pockets it had. She'd argued her way out of high heels and had on white flats instead, and Sansa had spent the last forty-five minutes curling her hair and pinning half of it up, using enough hairspray that Arya was sure she could be classified as a hazardous flammable object.

"I don't know why I agreed to go to this dance with him," she said, finally coming out of the bathroom to where Sansa was sitting cross-legged on Arya's bed. "You're not going. Why do I have to?"

"You have to go because Gendry asked and you said yes. And besides, it'll be fun."

"It won't be fun. I'm not made for these types of things. Gendry's going to regret asking me the minute he shows up and sees me like this. I mean, he's a great guy. We like a ton of the same stuff and I really enjoy hanging out with him, but shit, Sans, I don't even know why he asked me in the first place. This isn't the type of thing we normally do."

"Arya Lyanna Stark! I am stopping your pity party right now," Sansa said, using what was probably the meanest voice she had. She pushed herself up from the bed and marched over to Arya, grabbing her by the forearms and pushing her out of her room and down the hallway, walking behind her. "For starters, you look amazing and Gendry is the most stupid boy in all of Westeros if he doesn't notice that. And secondly, when are you going to notice that he's been head over heels for you since the school year started? That's why he asked you... and maybe a little prompting from Mya and me, but yea. He likes you, baby sis," she paused for a second, "and I mean he _like_ likes you."

_No, no, no... she can't actually mean that -_

Arya's thoughts were cut short when they heard the now-familiar rumble of Gendry's Firebird pulling up in the driveway. With Sansa planting the seed in her head of Gendry liking her, of Gendry _like_ liking her, she found herself more nervous than she'd ever been. And she'd never been nervous in front of Gendry, not once. As she walked down the stairs, she remembered back to a certain conversation she'd had with Mya and the rest of the girls two weeks' prior, one about what Arya thought of Gendry, and while Arya had thought it very odd at the time, her mind seemed to explode with the realization of what was going on.

When she tried to organize her thoughts about Gendry in the few seconds between walking down the stairs and her mother and father opening the front door, she managed to realize a few things - how he always teased her back at lunch and let her have his snacks anyways, the look of excitement on his face when she'd reacted over his birthday gift, and the way he froze just for a moment when she hugged him.

She'd known he was attractive from the moment he sat down next to her in algebra class - she wasn't blind after all. And the more they got to talking, she realized that even though he wasn't quick at math, that he was great at history, they had enough of the same tastes in movies and music to geek out together yet they still argued over which university football team had the better line-up. Arya found herself thinking about how much she looked forward to lunch each day so she could see him even though it'd only been an hour since algebra, how it was awesome that he didn't go on vacation over Winter Solstice break so he could be there for her birthday, how she enjoyed spending time in the shop at school, sitting on the counter and passing him tools when he asked for them, and exactly how she felt like she could talk to him about anything and -

_Oh, gods, I think I like him... I think I really like him._

Her moment of realization came at the exact same time as she rounded the corner from the stairs to see Gendry standing in the front foyer, wearing a dark gray three-piece suit, with a white button-down shirt, and a dark green tie and pocket square that matched her dress. She hadn't mentioned it, but Sansa must have said something. She stopped a few feet in front of him, noticing for the first time they way that he'd been looking at her for months, and she was stunned that she'd been so oblivious to it. Before either of them had a chance to say anything, they were being pulled in front of the fireplace by Sansa and her mother for pictures, and then just as quickly pushed out the front with a wave and a "be home by midnight."

They'd never been in this situation before, but she couldn't help but smile when he followed her to the side of his car, opened the door and closed it once she was inside. Arya was wishing that it was a farther drive to the high school than it actually was, she enjoyed the comfortable silence of riding in Gendry's car, not having to have a conversation and just watching his right hand change gears every so often. Unfortunately, the school was close, only about ten minutes, and he soon pulled his car into a spot in the back of the parking lot, always careful about others who might park too close and ding his doors. She unbuckled her seatbelt, but stopped her when she made to get out of the car.

"No, wait," Gendry said as he put the car in neutral and pulled the parking brake. "Let's not go in just yet."

"What do you mean? If you didn't want to go to the dance then..."

"That's not it, Arya. I've been realizing a lot of things recently, important things, and I'd like to live in this moment, right now, before I say something stupid and everything gets complicated."

"Gendry, I know what you're-"

"No, I have to say this," he said, interrupting her again. He wasn't exactly talking to her, but looking down at the floor mat. "It's just... when I first moved here, I hated the idea of leaving in the middle of high school, all of my friends, everything. I'd never been this far north before and I was so afraid I'd hate it... but I don't. And, well, that's because ever since I moved here I've been around you. I swear, Arry, you've been a great friend and I really love hanging out with you, and shit, you don't even know how beautiful you look right now, do you? Every day, actually, even covered in grease... and I'm just so scared that-"

He was rambling. She knew he got into spats of this when he was nervous, only now she understood that she was the source of his nervousness.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Gendry, will you just kiss me already?"

She watched his eyes go wide as he tried to process what she'd said. "What? You want me to kiss you?"

"Did I stutter? Listen, I know you like me, and well," she said, lowering his voice a touch and pausing a second to brush a bit of his shaggy black hair out of his face, the first time she'd touched him with maybe a more-than-friendly motivation. "...I think I like you too."

"You mean it?"

She couldn't help but laugh at his disbelief. "Yes, you idiot! Now shut up and kiss me before I change my mind."

"As my lady commands," he replied, as he'd grown accustomed to calling her when he'd wanted to annoy her, some inside joke from a medieval fantasy game they'd played a while ago, and she immediately reacted to punch his arm like she always would, leaning across the center console of the car. Her arm did make it that far.

He caught her hand in his mid-way to his left arm, holding it for a moment before running his hand lightly up her arm, straightening the shoulder of her dress a bit. He was getting closer to her, closer than he'd ever been before, and Arya felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. He continued, pushing a misplaced curl back to its spot behind her left ear, then cupped her face and took a deep breath.

"This is okay, yea?" If he hadn't have been that close she probably wouldn't have been able to hear. She nodded her head and almost instantly he closed the space, kissing her tentatively.

He pulled back a second, gave a small smile, then closed the space again. They bumped noses and Arya let out a laugh before he silenced her, kissing her again with more confidence and skill that she'd assumed he would have. There weren't any fireworks - she wasn't Sansa and this wasn't one of those Nicholas Sparks novels she and Jeyne read. That didn't matter though, she realized at the moment that what was happening was exactly what she didn't know she wanted. It was Gendry, stupid and stubborn, with one hand messing up the hairstyle that Sansa worked so hard fixing, one hand skimming her waist to hold her in place, almost like he was scared she would disappear if he let go. It was Gendry, who she spent countless hours with in auto shop, except his hands weren't greasy now and they were in the car they'd worked on together, and he was kissing her like it was the last thing he'd ever do. It was _amazing._

He finally pulled away, but Arya kept her eyes closed a few more seconds. When she finally opened them, she was happy to see the way his nose scrunched up when he smiled, really smiled, like he was doing at that moment.

"So... we should probably go inside..." she started and turned to open the door.

"No, no, wait. I'm gonna do this properly," he said, hurriedly getting out of the car and almost jogging over to her door as Arya smiled and shook her head.

She looked up to see him opening her door and his outstretched hand, giving him an exaggerated pouty face. "I know, Arya. I want to sit in the car and kiss you for the next five hours too, but I said I was going to take you to the dance and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

He grabbed her hand out of her lap and pulled her out of the car and into his side, closing the door with his free hand.

"This is nice, Gendry," she said, holding herself close to him and wrapping her arm around his waist. "I just wish I'd noticed you sooner..."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, continuing to guide her to the gym. "Better late then never."

"...better late then never," she repeated.


End file.
